By Maria Sacchetti and Martine Powers Globe Staff

Disbelief and elation swept through the state’s immigrant community today as people checked text messages and voice mail and e-mail and saw the news — that for the first time in decades law-abiding young people who were brought here as children illegally would no longer face deportation and would be eligible to apply for work permits.

“It doesn’t feel real,” said Renata Teodoro, 24, who moved from Brazil when she was 6 years old. “It’s not everything that we need, but it’s a big step.”

Immigrant students had in recent years become highly organized and increasingly public in their quest to gain legal residency, pointing out that it wasn’t their choice to come to America but they had spent most of their lives here, spoke impeccable English, lived exemplary lives, and identified more with the United States than their homelands.

Teodoro was among student organizers who slept in front of the State House, enduring pouring rain, to push for immigrant rights. She also lobbied lawmakers, including US Senator Scott Brown.

She said she was was stunned and still trying to absorb the fact that her life could change dramatically.

Frank Soults, spokesman for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said the new policy would change the lives of many young immigrants.

“It’s a wonderful development and a tremendous relief,” Soults said. “This will provide [young people] the opportunity to continue with their lives and come out of the shadows.”